How Molecular Forces and Rotating Planets Create Life

The Emergence and Evolution of Prokaryotic Cells

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Hardcover
$60.00 US
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On sale Feb 09, 2021 | 248 Pages | 9780262045575
A reconceptualization of origins research that exploits a modern understanding of non-covalent molecular forces that stabilize living prokaryotic cells.

Scientific research into the origins of life remains exploratory and speculative. Science has no definitive answer to the biggest questions--"What is life?" and "How did life begin on earth?" In this book, Jan Spitzer reconceptualizes origins research by exploiting a modern understanding of non-covalent molecular forces and covalent bond formation--a physicochemical approach propounded originally by Linus Pauling and Max Delbrück. Spitzer develops the Pauling-Delbrück premise as a physicochemical jigsaw puzzle that identifies key stages in life's emergence, from the formation of first oceans, tidal sediments, and proto-biofilms to progenotes, proto-cells and the first cellular organisms.
Jan Spitzer, a PhD in Physical Chemistry from Queen Elizabeth College at the University of London, has had a long career in chemistry and polymer science, as Associate Professor, and Research and Development Manager in synthetic latex industry. He is the author or coauthor of numerous peer-reviewed papers, technical articles, and book chapters.
Series Foreword xv
A Note about This “Story” xvii
Preface xix
Acknowledgments xxv
Introduction: A Physicochemical Framework for Origins Research 1
1 Understanding Biological Matter 19
2 Defining the Origins Problem 31
3 Structured Bacterial Life: No Bag of Enzymes 53
4 Bacterial Non-covalent Forces and Phase Separation 65
5 Bacterial Crowding and Vectorial Organization 85
6 The Jigsaw Puzzle Pieces 103
7 The Physicochemical Roots of Darwinian Evolution 129
8 An Unexplored Experimental Paradigm of Cyclic Processes 141
Summary 157
Appendix: Screened Electrostatic Interactions in Crowded Colloidal Systems 165
Notes 171
References 191
Index 217

About

A reconceptualization of origins research that exploits a modern understanding of non-covalent molecular forces that stabilize living prokaryotic cells.

Scientific research into the origins of life remains exploratory and speculative. Science has no definitive answer to the biggest questions--"What is life?" and "How did life begin on earth?" In this book, Jan Spitzer reconceptualizes origins research by exploiting a modern understanding of non-covalent molecular forces and covalent bond formation--a physicochemical approach propounded originally by Linus Pauling and Max Delbrück. Spitzer develops the Pauling-Delbrück premise as a physicochemical jigsaw puzzle that identifies key stages in life's emergence, from the formation of first oceans, tidal sediments, and proto-biofilms to progenotes, proto-cells and the first cellular organisms.

Author

Jan Spitzer, a PhD in Physical Chemistry from Queen Elizabeth College at the University of London, has had a long career in chemistry and polymer science, as Associate Professor, and Research and Development Manager in synthetic latex industry. He is the author or coauthor of numerous peer-reviewed papers, technical articles, and book chapters.

Table of Contents

Series Foreword xv
A Note about This “Story” xvii
Preface xix
Acknowledgments xxv
Introduction: A Physicochemical Framework for Origins Research 1
1 Understanding Biological Matter 19
2 Defining the Origins Problem 31
3 Structured Bacterial Life: No Bag of Enzymes 53
4 Bacterial Non-covalent Forces and Phase Separation 65
5 Bacterial Crowding and Vectorial Organization 85
6 The Jigsaw Puzzle Pieces 103
7 The Physicochemical Roots of Darwinian Evolution 129
8 An Unexplored Experimental Paradigm of Cyclic Processes 141
Summary 157
Appendix: Screened Electrostatic Interactions in Crowded Colloidal Systems 165
Notes 171
References 191
Index 217